bulletin - The National Board of Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspectors

FEATURE
8
principles will provide the clear foundation for developing
standards; however, strengthening and developing
partnerships within industries, governments, and business
and consumer organizations should also be part of the
organization’s vision for a successful strategy in developing
global standards.
Strengthening and developing public and private partner-
ships involves encouraging participation and individual
representation to address global issues pertaining to health,
safety, and the environment. The strength of a standards
organization to develop broad effective standards that
address these issues is directly related to the partnerships
that are generated and maintained.
Government representation is a needed partnership and
key to establishing standards that are appropriate, effective,
and enforceable. Health, safety, and environmental issues
are vital interests within government agencies; thus, they
should be encouraged to participate in promoting the use
of voluntary consensus standards, which is a focus of the
USSS. When government representatives participate in
standards-developing organizations, these organizations
provide additional strength and greater support for
developing and promoting voluntary consensus standards.
As government agencies adopt and enforce standards, they
raise public awareness about the benefits of standards.
As local and national government issues are addressed by
national standards-developing organizations, improvement
in international standards can be encouraged. In other
words, we can learn from each other. Government agreements
such as the World Trade Organization Technical
Barriers to Trade and the National Technology Transfer
and Advancement Act should provide the drive for
participation needed to advance and unify global issues
within standards.
Partnerships within varied industries can provide numerous
benefits to the standards developer. The use of specific
standards addressing specific needs can be promoted and
NATIONAl BOARD BUllETIN/FAll 2006
easily maintained with the help of each affected industry.
Industries bring to the standards developer technological
improvements, needs, concerns, and future interests to
pave the way for developing and revising standards. Since
industries are global, competition, collaboration, and
consistency are encouraged through industry. Industry
can — and often does — provide the needed resources
to support the development and promotion of effective
standards.
Partnerships with businesses, consumers, and other
interested organizations can provide and facilitate
innovation and strengthen economic competitiveness.
Business and consumer organizations are market-driven
and can offer international assistance to promote and
provide globally relevant standards. Standards developers
seeking the participation of businesses, consumers, and
other organizations can benefit from asking them about
their needs and whether those needs are being met. This
partnership further encourages continual improvement and
simplicity, and seeks to minimize duplication of standards
so they can be easily understood and used effectively.
The National Board publishes the National Board Inspection
Code (NBIC), an internationally recognized technical and
safety standard. As a standards-developing organization
seeking to expand and remain effective in these existing
global economies, our vision is to continually pursue and
consider needs, concerns, and objectives within governments,
industry, and business, consumer, and other interested
organizations both nationally and internationally. The
strength, effectiveness, and use of the NBIC is directly
related to achieving our vision. The NBIC is just one of
thousands of standards used worldwide on a daily basis.
When standards cannot meet global objectives, they become
less effective, causing our global economies to become
fragmented and our lives more difficult. Therefore, NBIC
committees will move forward to incorporate global needs,
concerns, and objectives that are needed for a standard
recognized worldwide. We welcome your voluntary
participation! v